Zenit St Petersburg V Lokomotiv Moscow

Preview: In a weeks time the Russian Premier League gets underway for another season. In the meantime there is the annual curtain raiser: the Russian Super Cup, held in Moscow. This is more often than not contested between the current league champions and the domestic cup winners. Those two teams this year are Zenit St Petersburg (Premier League winners) and Lokomotiv Moscow (Cup winners).

Zenit were the dominant force in Russia last term, securing a sixth league title after finishing eight-points clear of the nearest competitor, which happened to be Lokomotiv Moscow. The deficit between themselves and their rivals, as well as their positive record in the corresponding league meetings, will no doubt provide the Zenit players with plenty of belief that they can add to their trophy haul with another Russian Super Cup.

And unlike their opponents, Zenit do possess a habit of winning the Super Cup whenever they contest it. This will be their seventh appearance in such fixture, with their record overall a very impressive won 4 and lost 2. They were also victorious on each of their recent appearances, in 2015 and 2016, with the former coming against Lokomotiv via a penalty shoot-out.

A trip to the capital of Moscow is unlikely to phase them either; Zenit didn’t lose any of their league matches in Moscow last season, recording clinical victories over CSKA Moscow (2-0) and Dynamo Moscow (1-0) whilst earning credible draws at Spartak Moscow (1-1) and, of more relevance to us, Lokomotiv Moscow (1-1).

So there is much to like about the team from St Petersburg. No side scored more frequently in last season’s Premier League than them, as their forward trio of Sebastien Driussi (11 goals), Sardar Azmoun (9 goals) and Artem Dzyuba (8 goals) all provided consistent contributions. This firepower could be what secures them a fifth Russian Super Cup.

Lokomotiv Moscow Preview – Home comforts to aide Russian Cup winners?

Runners-up in the Russian Premier League last season after failing to defend their title from 2017-18, Lokomotiv went some way to atoning for their shortcomings in the league by securing their tenth Russian Cup. No club has won it more times. Their reward is another shot at the Russian Super Cup, a trophy that has eluded them since 2005 – this despite featuring in four Super Cups in the intervening period, including the previous two.

In fact, no team has lost this fixture more times (4). That could make them even more determined this time around, especially after coming so close in 2015, 2017 and 2018, drawing all three but losing each after extra-time. This particular final will also be staged in nearby Moscow, which could work to their advantage and should ensure they have a healthy number of supporters inside the VTB Arena, home of Dynamo Moscow.

It’s been a relatively quiet transfer window for the ‘Steam Locomotives’, so it will be near enough the same group of players which finished eight points worse off – and with an inferior goal difference of 11 – than their rivals in the previous campaign. They also couldn’t land much of a blow in their league encounters. The fixture in Moscow finished in stalemate (1-1) but it was Zenit who won an eight-goal thriller in St Petersburg 5-3.

To compound matters, manager Yuri Semin seems likely to be without at least one key player in forward Jefferson Farfan. The Peruvian contributed with 12 goal involvements last season – 8 goals scored and 4 assists – but picked up a knock while on international duty at the Copa America and his goal threat will be sorely missed.

Key Facts for Zenit V Lokomotiv Moscow

Zenit are the current Russian Premier League champions, collecting eight points more than Lokomotiv in second place.

Lokomotiv Moscow are contesting their fourth Russian Super Cup in the past five years, after securing a tenth Russian Cup last term.

Last season’s meetings between the two teams finished in a 5-3 win for Zenit at home and a 1-1 draw at Lokomotiv Moscow.

Betting Summary

Super Cups are often glorified friendlies, with the levels of intensity not the same as a standard league fixture. That would appear to be the case in Russia too, with each of the previous four Super Cups producing few goals – all four produced Under 2.5 Goals (currently 8/13 with Betfair), while three of them finished as a draw with Lokomotiv Moscow involved on each occasion.

So the draw has obvious appeal. However, the edge may rest with Zenit who were head and shoulders above everyone else in the league last season and boast a strong record in the Russian Super Cup.

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* All mentioned odds were valid at the time of writing. Betting odds are subject to fluctuations. Please check the current odds with the respective bookmaker!